


No-one Should Be Able To Survive That

by luxrayed



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Apocalypse, Canon Compliant, Death, Flashbacks, Gen, Gender-neutral Reader, Loss of Parents, One of the 43, PTSD, Suicide, Superpowers, Swearing, The Umbrella Academy (TV) Season 2 Spoilers, The Umbrella Academy (TV) Spoilers, Time Travel, no beta we die like ben, you have powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26200960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luxrayed/pseuds/luxrayed
Summary: You feel something bad coming. Something terrible, that twists your stomach into knots. Is there anything you can even do?
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	1. The Dead Return

**Author's Note:**

> Heavy trigger warnings!  
> (TW/CW) Death, death of family members, and suicide!  
> This will include spoilers for both seasons 1 & 2!  
> I’m not sure how long this fic will be, but already it is many more chapters than I expected it to be at this point!  
> This is my first fic on this website so if the formatting is strange, I will edit it as soon as I can! I apologise in advance!  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader is gender neutral!

You were 12, the first time you died. You were walking your usual route home from school when the hair on the back of your neck stood on edge. The next thing you knew, a group of teenagers slammed past you, racing on their bikes, and causing you to tumble down the steep hill that jutted down from the road. You felt a nauseating crack echo through your skull.

The next thing you knew, the sky was starting to get dark. You can’t have been unconscious for more than an hour or so. Feeling woozy, and your head spinning, you struggled to drag yourself back up the hill and stumbled your way back home.

“Ah, (Y/N),” your mother called through from the kitchen, “I was starting to get worried!” 

The colour drained from her face as she rounded the corner to greet you. Your legs couldn’t hold you up any longer and you slumped to the floor. The last thing you remember was grey, and your mother screaming something you couldn’t quite understand. 

They only kept you at the hospital for a couple of days. Once you’d explained what had happened, the doctors said it was a miracle that your skull hadn’t fractured and damaged your brain. You noticed your parents share a knowing glance, but your head was pounding too much to wonder about it. You walked away with a few deep gashes on your head and arms, and some minor grazes. 

The second time you died, was while your father was teaching you to fight. He’d decided you needed to learn after your head injury, but you were never sure why. Surprisingly, you’d picked things up quite quickly, but dodging attacks was your speciality. You chalked it up to good reflexes. During one session, you were feeling maybe a bit too confident and weren’t focussing as much as you should have been. Your dad caught the back of your knees and you toppled backwards. You landed on your neck, hard. 

You woke up on the sofa, your parents were in tears, holding each other on the floor. They spun to stare at you as you gasped desperately for air. Your lungs felt flat. Immediately, your mother was fawning over you, stroking your hair, and asking where the pain was. Your father stood on the other side of the room, eyes wide.

“I knew it,” he kept muttering to himself.

The doctors ultimately deemed you okay, sending you home with a diagnosis of whiplash, and some regular exercises to release tension in your neck.

A few days later, your parents sat you down in the living room. Their faces were serious, and their eyes were full of worry. Your mother took a deep breath, “We couldn’t have kids,” she stated. You’d heard this story before.

They had been desperate for a child. They’d tried for years to conceive, with no avail. Eventually, they had discovered that your mother was infertile, and they pretty much gave up hope. They called you their miracle child. Against all odds, they had managed to have you. But that wasn’t quite the full story.

“I wasn’t pregnant,” your mother started, “At least, I hadn’t been when I woke up that day…” She trailed off. Your father took over, describing the unexplainable phenomenon that had occurred on October 1st, 1989. He told you about a man named Reginald Hargreeves, who had tried to buy as many of the 43 children born that day as he could. Your parents had refused, of course. He told you about The Umbrella Academy: a group of 6 children, born on the same day, and all adopted by Hargreeves. It had been discovered that they had powers, and had been trained to fight crime.

“We believe that you also have powers. You died a few days ago, (Y/N),” your mother watched you carefully, before continuing, “Somehow, you were… revived.”

“We first suspected something when you fell down that hill. Remember what the doctors said about your injuries? It was a miracle you were relatively unscathed, considering the near-fatal drop of that hill.” You reached your hand up to your temple, running your fingers over the large scar you were left with. 

“This is silly,” you started to stand up. You could barely believe what they were saying, and your ears were starting to ring. Your mother reached over and grabbed your arm, pleading you to hear them out. Tentatively, you leaned back into the armchair. They exchanged a look with each other before your father spoke up again. He spoke about your reflexes when training with him, how you seemed to always know where a hit was going to land, sometimes before he had even decided himself. 

“Your mother and I, we think you can sense incoming danger, like you get some kind of warning.” You blinked at your parents for a minute while you considered what they were saying. You thought about the feeling you got on the back of your neck, seconds before you were knocked down the hill. It couldn’t be… It just wasn’t realistic. 

You needed space, time to think. You stood up to go to your room. This time, your mother didn’t bother stopping you.


	2. Reincarnate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW / TW for this chapter: death, depression, suicide
> 
> We’re starting to lean more into plot and storyline here, as well as more information about the character’s powers, which was super exciting for me to write and explore!  
> ~~~~~~~~

You were 26 when you got the phone call. You'd felt sick to your stomach for the past week, but you weren't sure why, so you'd explained it away as you were just tired. That wasn't untrue; you hadn't been sleeping well at all, but you couldn't have predicted why. 

You collapsed in the street when you got the news. Sobs shook your body so heavily, you feared you’d sway the Earth. Your parents had been on their way to visit you at your new apartment when they’d been involved in a dreadful car crash. Neither had survived.

The next few weeks were hazy. There was a lot of planning and arranging to be done, but you didn’t feel up to any of it. You felt drained, you felt lost, you felt… guilty? It wasn’t your fault, surely. It was an accident. But, had you known somehow? Your head was crammed with memories you shared with your parents, although, there was one, in particular, you kept coming back to. What if they had been right? What if you could sense danger? You’d brushed the idea off for 10 years, considering it superstitious, a foolish belief, but you couldn’t forget the tightness you’d felt in your stomach before you got the news. You couldn’t ignore the voice in your head telling you that you could have stopped them from driving, you could have saved them, if only you had trusted your gut.

After the funeral, you headed back to your lonely apartment. It was a mess. So were you. You weren’t thinking clearly, but you had to know. Did you have powers? Had you really died when you were younger? You supposed you didn’t have anything left to lose. You grabbed the clock from your bedside table and the sharpest knife you could find, and ran yourself a bath. 

You struggled furiously to draw air back into your lungs, your fingers weakly gripped the sides of the bathtub. You remembered where you were, what you’d done. You squinted across the room, looking for the clock. 4 hours had gone by. Grey spots swirled your vision as you scrambled out of the icy water and onto the hard bathroom tile. You risked a glance at your arms. Already they looked well on their way to being healed. Sure, there was plenty of blood, but a lot of it was dry. Your body was stiff from the cold and you groaned trying to reach for a towel. ‘ _ Clearly,’ _ you thought, ‘ _ I am not allowed to die.’ _

So, what else was there to do?

Over the next few years, you threw yourself into training both your body and your power. You enrolled in self-defence and martial arts classes, and meditated regularly in an attempt to understand your abilities. You also took it upon yourself to research the famed Umbrella Academy. They hadn’t been seen together in years; their crime-fighting days were behind them. You studied their powers, and tried to find any information about how they had trained when they were younger, but to no avail. Unfortunately for you, their adoptive father tended to keep his discoveries to himself.

A feeling had been building in the pit of your stomach. You were frequently on edge, your hairs stood on end. It was similar to how it felt just before you’d lost your parents, but this time it was much stronger. You often woke up at night, clawing at the bedsheets, and overcome with a terrible sense of dread. There was somewhere you needed to go, but where, and when? You wondered for months, becoming more anxious with every passing day, until you heard the news. Sir Reginald Hargreeves had died. Somehow, you knew where to go.


	3. It’s Not You This Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a little tricky for me to write, so it might be a bit shorter.  
> But we’re into canon now! Very exciting!  
> Who will we meet first?  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~

It was days before you’d managed to book a flight. It was the soonest one within your budget. You could have got an earlier one, you supposed, if you’d been willing to use your inheritance money. But you thought you’d rather save that; keep it as a nest egg of sorts. You knew you’d need it when you returned. Your manager hadn’t been happy that you took off without so much as an explanation, so you doubted you’d have a job to come back to. That is, of course, provided that you survived whatever was coming. 

_ ‘Of course,’  _ you thought, inspecting the room where you were sat,  _ ‘A nicer motel couldn’t have hurt.’  _ You weren’t certain why you had picked this particular motel to stay at, considering it hadn’t been the first one you came across. What you were certain of, was that it’d be important. You reclined yourself on the solid bed and decided to skim over a map you’d picked up from a pamphlet stand in the reception. Hopefully familiarising yourself with the city would help you decide what to do first.

The sound of a gunshot made you sit up straight. When had it gotten dark? Your head was still murky with sleep as you crawled across the bed and made your way to the door, cautiously poking your head out. Your eyes darted about as you searched for the source of the sound when you spotted two people hurrying across the car park. One was much taller than the other. You strained your ears in an attempt to hear their hushed whispers but they were too far away. They very quickly got in a car and drove off. Was that suspicious? Once you were certain they were gone, you left your room and paced down the gloomy walkway towards the reception, peering in each window as you passed, until you came across an open door. A small scream escaped you before you clapped your hands over your mouth.

You weren’t sure how long you’d been standing there, your eyes wide and your stomach churning. Blood soaked into the carpet surrounded the woman led face-down on the floor. A man shoved past you, bringing you back to reality. 

“No… Patch, no, no no no” he muttered to himself, crouching over the woman. Did he know her? He held her in his arms, stroking her hair, before turning to you, still frozen in the doorway. His face was scrunched up, his eyes were angry.

“What happened?” he demanded, “Who did this?” his tone was accusatory, but his voice was trembling.

Your voice, however, barely came out as a croak, “Two people,” you managed to splutter, “They left in a car,” You turned slightly and lifted your arm weakly to point in the direction the car drove off earlier. It was just then that sirens became audible. Someone else must have called the police. Thank God, because you’d been useless. The man stood and you got a better look at him. He had dark hair, was donned in leather, and… were those knives? Despite his appearance, he didn't appear to be a threat. He had tears in his eyes, for god's sake, and he didn't seem like the type of man to cry easily. 

He studied you for a moment before speaking again, quieter this time, “You didn’t see me,” And with that, he brushed past you and took off again, leaving you to deal with the police that were starting to pull up to the motel.

You weren’t sure where you were. When the police were sure that you didn’t know anything of use, they let you leave, and you’d ended up just wandering around the city, your head reeling once again. You’d been walking all night. There were a lot more people here than you were used to, being from a small town in the middle of nowhere. This meant a lot more possible danger, and it was almost overwhelming. Almost. The Big Danger, as you had dubbed it, was still prevalent, but even with all your focus, you had no idea what was going to happen or where. You’d considered finding the Academy mansion but ultimately decided against it. What would you say? Would anyone even be there? You shook your head. It was pointless trying to think about anything right now; you were too tired, too hungry. And still no closer to understanding anything. You resigned yourself to take a break. After all, your legs were burning and you could feel blisters starting to form. You found a cafe that was, thankfully, already open, and plopped yourself down in a chair beside the window.


	4. Two Heads Are Better Than One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally i planned for this chapter and the next to be all in one but it was way too long!! so i split it in half, sorry!! i like how they turned out tho!  
> lmk what you think id love to hear ^_^  
> ~~~~~~~~

It had been a long couple days of nothing happening but the sense of impending doom was stronger than ever. You were sat on a bench on the side of a dark street, listening to distant sirens, because you had nothing better to do. You silently cursed your power. It could have at least given you a time and a place, instead of just anxiety and vague, instinctual directions. Things could be happening right now, bad things, but how on Earth were you to know? You kicked a rock by your foot. It didn’t scatter as far as you’d hoped. Curse that rock as well. 

Just then, someone rounded the corner at the end of the road. They looked familiar. You squinted through the darkness, trying to figure out who they were. It wasn’t until they were much closer that it clicked. Number 3. You decided, very quickly, that maybe your best bets were the only other powered people you knew of.

“Allison!” you said as she walked past you. But she didn’t stop, just gave a quick smile. Naturally, she thought you were just a fan of her movies. In all fairness, you were aware of Allison Hargreeves long before you’d bothered to research the Umbrella Academy.

You decided to try again, “Wait!” you called, “Something bad is going to happen and I don’t know how to stop it!” You hoped that’d be enough, despite the fact that she was clearly in a rush. To your surprise, she turned around. You had to keep her attention, make her interested enough to help. At this point, she was your only hope. But you had to be concise, which was never your strong point, you’d admit.

“I’m one of the 43,” you stumbled over your words, but carried on anyway, “I can sense danger and something really terrible is coming but I don’t know what or when.” Allison furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head, as if she was processing your words. Did she already know something? You noticed she didn’t seem all that shocked. It only took her a few seconds to make the decision to walk over to you and grab your wrist.

“What’s your name?” she asked, already starting to pull you back the way she had been walking. You told her. In all honesty, you were taken aback, but working hard not to show it.

“(Y/N), you can tell me what you know in the car,” And just like that, you were sat in the passenger seat of Allison Hargreeves’ car. 

You weren’t sure where Allison was driving to. You weren’t sure where you’d end up. All you knew was you had to explain everything in such a way that would encourage her to help you. You told her that you’d felt The Big Danger for the best part of a year. You told her how you’d dropped everything and how far you’d travelled following your instinct of where it’d be. You told her how lost you’d felt, the past few days, not knowing where you had to be, or how to stop what was coming. You also told her, regretfully, that you didn’t even know what was going to happen. And you hoped that was enough. 

She seemed to think about what you’d said for a long time afterwards, although she may have just been concentrating on driving. So you just shuffled in your seat, expecting her to kick you out the car, and call you crazy, or delusional or something. What reason did she have to believe you - a random stranger - anyways? 

It felt like hours but eventually, she spoke up, “The apocalypse.” You choked on the air. That had taken you completely by surprise! But, as she said it, you understood. The Big Danger was an apocalypse. It all made sense.

“Jeez, no wonder I’ve been freaking out,” you whispered, mainly to yourself, but Allison shot you a sad smile anyway.

“I can’t believe you knew for so long. It must have been horrible to deal with alone.” You weren’t sure why, but you got the feeling she wasn’t talking about you. She continued, “We think we know what causes it.” She glanced at you, trying to gauge your reaction. You’d sat up straight in your seat, your eyes trained on her, encouraging her to go on. She took a deep breath before telling you about Leonard Peabody, how he was actually called Harold Jenkins; a murderer with a grudge against the Umbrella Academy. She told you that he had her sister, Vanya, and that she was in danger. You weren’t aware there was a seventh Hargreeves child, but decided that now was not the time to ask. Instead, you told her you’d do all that you can to help. The tight smile stretched across her face didn’t hide her worry.


	5. Only Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m pretty sure this is the longest chapter i have written so far. it was also a lot of fun [exclamation point]  
> i want to keep updating as much as i can,,, so far its been every other day but i only have until chapter 9 pre-written right now, and i have to double check the timelines to make sure things line up with canon.. also my shift button has broken which is a pain for grammar and punctuation... but wont be a problem for a few more chapters ,,besides notes,,, hopefully haha ,,  
> anyways enjoy [exclamation points]  
> ——————————

The sun had risen when you pulled up next to a diner on the side of the road. Most of the area was cordoned off with police tape. Allison stared up at something, then quickly put on some sunglasses and exited the car. You thought you’d better follow her. You trailed a couple of metres behind as she grabbed something off the diner sign, and walked up to the crime scene. 

An officer came up to her as she tried to duck under the tape, “Pardon me, ma’am,” he called out, his voice loud and urgent, “I’ve got to ask you to stay behind the line, there was an accident here last night.”

“Oh, right, yes, sorry,” Allison let go of the tape, “What happened?” The police officer frowned at her but offered a patient smile.

“You can read about it in the papers tomorrow, just like everybody else. Have a nice day.” He nodded his head and started to turn away. You could tell Allison wasn’t going to give up that easy. She pulled her sunglasses off and started to say something in protest, but apparently, the officer recognised her. 

“Holy shit!” he said, taking off his own sunglasses. An amazed look spread across his face as he pointed at her. He shook his finger a few times, trying to think of the right words, “You’re Allison Hargreeves!” His voice sounded almost questioning, as if he couldn’t quite believe who he was seeing. You felt like this was a good sign. The cop started chatting about various movies he had seen, starring Allison of course, and which ones he and his wife preferred. Allison laughed along, graciously agreeing. She was used to this. There was an uncomfortable silence until the cop’s radio bleeped; an update on a witness in the hospital, apparently. 

Allison saw an opportunity, “Actually, I was wondering, uh- I’m researching a role, small-town law enforcement, takes down a drug cartel. I can’t say too much, of course, but I don’t suppose we could tag along on some official police business?” She noticed the unsure look on the officer’s face - his name was Cheddar, you think. “It would really help me develop my character if I could experience a day in the life, you know?” You watched her flash a dazzling, sincere smile, and Cheddar sucked on his teeth, seeming to weigh up his options. He looked at you, clearly an unknown variable. Allison caught on straight away. Always a professional.

“Oh, this is my assistant! They’re just keeping me on track, you know how it is.” You straightened your shoulders, preparing to assume the role. You’d never quite got the hang of improvisation, but you knew you had to help any way you could. You watched Allison finger a scarf - the thing she had grabbed off of the sign, and took a quick breath.

“I’m not sure we have time, Miss Allison. I’m sure Officer Cheddar here is plenty busy. I can try and find another police officer to set up a meeting with later this week instead.” You plastered the most sincere, apologetic expression as you could on your face as you looked up at Allison. Hopefully, it had the intended effect.

“It’ll be fine!” Cheddar quickly interjected, gesturing for you both to follow him. You quietly sighed with relief and Allison winked at you. You did good.

Pretty soon, you were stood in a hospital room, hovering behind Allison and Officer Cheddar. A man was laid in a bed in front of you all, looking pretty beat up. You wrinkled your forehead, imagining what could have happened to him.

“Mr Luntz?” Cheddar spoke up first. He was the professional, after all, “Mr Luntz, can you hear me?” The man in the bed stirred, and blinked up at them. 

“Who are you?”

“I’m Sergeant Cheddar,” Oh, he was a Sergeant, “And these are my… associates.” He gestured to you and Allison. 

“Am I in any trouble?” Luntz asked. He was clearly in pain. Cheddar explained that they were just here to ask a few questions about what happened last night. 

The man looked unsure, but he agreed, “You’re a cop, you gotta protect me, right?” He took a deep breath. “It was no accident. We were hired to start a fight. This guy paid us to rough him up in front of his girl. We’d had a few drinks, maybe took it a bit too far. Started to hassle the girl too. And then, all hell broke loose.” Allison had taken a few steps closer. She looked apprehensive. You wondered if the girl was her sister. She described a man, asking if that was who’d paid Luntz. He confirmed. Sergeant Cheddar looked confused, but you could tell he was starting to put things together. It became apparent why you were there when Allison held up a book cover, asking if that was the girl from last night. You didn’t get a close look at the picture, but you assumed it was Vanya. Evidently, you hadn’t been very good at researching the Umbrella Academy, if you’d managed to miss an entire sister and her book. Mr Luntz didn’t get a chance to answer before Cheddar pulled the two of you aside. He wasn’t happy. 

“By any chance, is your film called ‘Small Town Cop Falls For Hollywood Superstar’s Bullshit’?” You shuffled uncomfortably. How had you managed to get in this situation? You were just trying to save the world, apparently. Allison was apologising to the Sergeant, trying to rationalise her reasons to him. You were watching Luntz. He was crying, silently. What the hell happened last night? It had to have been bad if a man who could be paid to beat someone up was in tears. But, then again, you admittedly didn’t have much experience in this area. Part of you wishes you knew more, though the rest of you was glad you hadn’t had to have lived like this. At this moment, you realised just how bad you felt for the kids of the Umbrella Academy. They’d probably had to have dealt with horrible, confusing shit their entire lives. Your thoughts were interrupted by a nurse ushering you out of the room, saying they had to run some tests, but promised more questions could be asked later.

The three of you had been stood out in the hallway chatting for some time. You nudged Allison.

“Something’s not right.” She looked quizzically at you. Your ears were ringing and your head was muddled. You’d forgotten that you didn’t really know each other. It had been a long time since last night.

“Something bad is about to happen,” you explained, “Or is happening,” you added. The dread had gotten stronger, as if someone was squeezing the air out of you. You couldn’t be sure what your instincts were trying to tell you anymore. Right on cue, a nurse walked up to your small group.

“Hey, Dale?” she asked, directing her question at Cheddar, “Have you seen Mr Luntz?” Your stomach dropped. The something bad had already happened. Cheddar shook his head, and the nurse explained further, “I took him to x-ray, then he just disappeared.” You shared a look with Allison. 

“You’d better call security. I’ll call it in, see if anyone’s seen him.” Cheddar said, his hand already on his walkie-talkie. “Wait here,” he told you and Allison, but you felt it was more directed at her than you. That made sense, you supposed, you hadn’t said much since the crime scene. Then, he turned on his heel and left. You watched him wander down the hall, and wondered what could have happened to Luntz. You wondered, if you had better control of your powers, if you could have stopped it. You bit your tongue, guilt and worry seeping in. That wasn’t helpful. It masked your power, your instincts. You turned to Allison to ask if she had a plan, but she was already gone.

_ ‘Goddammit,’ _ you thought. Alone again.


	6. The End Of Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Think i’m gonna have to slow down posting chapters for a little while, although i really dont want to!  
> my keyboard is playing up and so writing is slow, and ive only got a few more pre-written ones, a couple of which probably need editting.  
> hopefully i can get back on track soon!!  
> anyway,,,, exciting things coming up in the story!!!! yay!!!!

It was a long and expensive taxi ride back to the motel room. You’d considered taking various buses, to save on expenses. You stared for a while at the board full of supposed routes and random numbers and times, but it was too confusing, and you were too tired to bother. There was a pounding in your chest and you felt sick to the stomach and you worried about Allison. But there was nothing you could do. You had no idea where she’d gone, or if you’d get there in time. She probably wouldn’t want you there anyway. 

No, you thought it’d be best to get back to the city. Whatever was going to cause the apocalypse would happen there. You’d head back to the motel, get some sleep, some food, and then read up on this Harold Jenkins that Allison had mentioned. If she thought he was dangerous, it was worth looking into.

You must have been exhausted when you got back because you’d slept for way longer than you’d planned. You woke in a panic, disoriented and confused, but mostly terrified. Bile threatened to choke your throat as you sprinted out the door. You didn’t check the time. You barely even remembered to grab your coat and shoes. At this point, you knew two things for certain; something was happening, and you wouldn’t get there in time. You weaved down several side streets, not quite sure where you were heading. A helicopter flew overhead. You were too late. Suddenly, you stopped in your tracks. A child appeared, just a few metres in front of you, and he looked familiar. You searched your mind desperately. Where had you seen him before? And then you realised.

“Five!” you called out. You didn’t know him by any other name. He turned to stare at you. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his clothes were dusty. But… He was dead, wasn’t he? He hadn’t been seen for, what, 16 years? And yet, he looked just as young, and he was wearing the same uniform as The Umbrella Academy had worn all those years ago. Could it even be possible?

The child disappeared in a blue flash before you could reason with yourself, and you were left questioning your own sanity. It was time to go to the library. Maybe you had somehow missed the reappearance of the fifth member of the academy, just as you had missed the seventh’s autobiography.

You’d been sat in the library a while. You hadn’t been able to find any more information about Five Hargreeves since his disappearance so you’d resigned yourself to skimming Vanya’s book, a coffee in your other hand. 

And then you felt it.

At first, you thought you were going to throw up, but your throat quickly closed, and all you could hear was a ringing in your ears. You dropped the almost empty cup and shakily forced yourself to your feet. This was worse than you’d ever felt before. The Big Danger - the apocalypse - it was imminent. You hardly even thought about where you were going as you hurried through the city. The blisters on your feet screamed but you ignored them. Your whole body was tense. Your lungs were on fire. You cursed yourself for not paying attention, for not meditating, for not focusing your powers. At this point, you were too far away. You weren’t sure you could make it.

And you didn’t.

You skidded to a halt in front of a theatre. You felt like your brain was going to explode, but you couldn’t move. All you could do was watch silently as a white beam burst through the roof of the building and stretch through the sky. Your eyes followed it as it hit the moon, which subsequently exploded into pieces. Your body was trembling harder than ever; you couldn’t even hold yourself upright. You curled up on the gravel, full of tears and memories of your parents, and wished you had been better. You could have stopped this.

You should have stopped this.

The ground shook horrendously and the air heated up around you. It was even harder to breathe now. You choked on ash and dirt and fire, clawing at the concrete below.

And then there was nothing.


	7. What Comes After The End?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay i was very excited for this chapter and I hope what ive written comes across okay!  
> This is the point where season 2 spoilers start so please be aware of that if you havent seen it yet!  
> anyway, very exciting and actual plot time..the chapters before this were just meant to be a couple to set up but i guess i got carried away  
> i hope you like it! please feel free to let me know what you think, id love to know =)  
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You gasped air into your lungs and immediately choked on ash and dust. The heavy coughs felt like burning in your chest and your fingertips scraped at the dirt you were led on. Your skin tingled all over, likely healing from whatever horrible burns were left on you when you died. You heaved yourself to sit up and cautiously opened your eyes, and inspected your hands. They didn’t look too bad. Quite pink, but severely lacking any marks and scars that would have been there on any regular person. But then again, every other regular person was dead now. It was just you. 

You forced yourself to look around your environment. What was once a loud, lively city, was in ruins. Chunks of rock of various sizes were scattered and fires were distributed randomly along the street. Entire buildings leaned over at worrying angles, looking as if they would topple at any time. Soot and embers and smoke clouded the air, blocking out the sun and making it impossible to know what time it was. How long had you been dead?

“Ah, I was wondering how long it’d take you!” You jumped at a voice behind you. Someone else was alive? Your hands scraped over bricks and rubble as you spun around where you sat. Perched, not too far from you, was an old man. He had a white beard and hair, and held a black briefcase between his legs. His suit looked too clean to have survived the apocalypse. Your muscles groaned as you pulled yourself to your feet. You attempted a few, shaky steps towards the man, trying to figure out what you wanted to ask first. Who was he? How was he here, and alive? And, how on Earth had he known you were going to wake up?

He spoke up before you could decide, “My name’s Hazel. I’ve come to get you,” You shot him a puzzled look. But, again, he spoke before you could even open your mouth.

“I’ll explain soon. But, maybe we should find you some clothes first.” You looked down at yourself. Most of what you’d been wearing had been burned away, and what remained was singed and torn and filthy. You supposed that it made sense. Of course you could heal, you could survive even the end of the world, apparently. A few pieces of fabric, obviously, could not. Your thoughts were muddy and your eyesight was wavy, so you didn’t say anything. You just followed the man, Hazel, to what used to be a clothing store.

You were standing in the storeroom, rifling through bags and boxes, searching for intact clothes, when Hazel spoke up again.

“Honestly, (Y/N), I need your help-“

“How do you know me?” you interrupted him, “How do you know my name?” He sighed and watched you over his glasses.

“Some old colleagues told me. People who are working to save the world.” You raised an eyebrow at him.

“The Umbrella Academy?” you scoffed, “They failed. Clearly. And so did I.” Hazel didn’t say anything else as you found some - mostly undamaged - jeans, and a simple t-shirt. You slipped your feet into some slightly holey flats and grabbed a sheer jacket off of a nearby shelf. It wouldn’t shield you against any extreme weather, but you figured it was the best you were going to find. You turned to face Hazel once again but he was already leaving the store, so you hurried after him.

“This briefcase allows me to time-travel.” You stifled a laugh. After all, it wasn’t the craziest thing you had heard. He continued, “There’s another apocalypse coming, another doomsday, and we think you could be able to help. I’m going to take you back in time. You need to find the Umbrella Academy and you need to keep them safe. God knows they get themselves into a hell of a lot of trouble.” Your head was reeling.  _ Another _ apocalypse? Didn’t one just happen? And what made anyone think that you could be of use? All you did was survive the last one. A pretty impressive feat, admittedly, but not particularly helpful before the fact.

But you didn’t say any of that.

Instead you asked, “Why are you doing this?” Hazel looked sad for a moment. No - he looked reminiscent. His eyes glazed over and he stopped walking. He turned to look you in the eyes, His eyebrows were pushed together.

“I made a promise to Agnes that I would help an old friend in need.” You didn’t know who Agnes was. You didn’t know who his ‘old friend’ was. You didn’t get a chance to ask before you heard another voice. There was a child shouting, screaming, far away. Normally, you probably wouldn’t have heard them from such a distance, but the only other sounds now were the fires crackling, and a slight breeze brushing past your ears. The child sounded scared, horrified. Your stomach dropped at the thought of them waking up somewhere, alone, when the rest of humanity had burned. God knows you were scared too, but you’d anticipated the end of the world. You’d watched it happen.

You were about to take off in the direction of the anguished screams when Hazel grabbed your arm.

“It’s too late,” he said, “This has already happened.” And with that, you were engulfed in a blue light.

You dropped to your knees, your stomach was churning and you dug your fingers into the soft soil beneath you, desperately trying to ground yourself. Where the hell were you? You looked around frantically. It was brighter, that’s for sure, and there was a dusty road a few feet to the side of you. Hazel stood in front of you, seemingly unfazed by the change of scenery. Had you just time-travelled with him? You desperately tried to catch your breath and stood up to look him in the eyes.

“What the hell?” You shouted, “A little warning next time would be nice! Where are we?”

He simply looked down at you and said, “Get to Dallas. Find the Umbrella Academy. Save them. Keep them safe.” Another flash of bright blue, and he was gone. And you were left in the middle of God knows where, alone.

“Hazel!” You screamed at the empty space in front of you, “Come back! I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, I don’t know where I am! I don’t know… when I am!”

Silence.

“What the fuck, man! This isn’t fair!” You were almost in tears. You were scared and lost and your heart was beating so loud in your chest. The sun was so bright and hot on your still healing skin. You wildly spun around, desperately hoping Hazel would appear again. He didn’t and you dropped back to your knees and started sobbing wildly. Your mind couldn’t keep up with all that had happened recently.

You weren’t sure how long you’d been knelt next to the dry road. Your head rested in your palms as you tried to make sense of what Hazel had said, and you tried to come up with a plan. You almost didn’t hear the truck pull up beside you.


	8. What’s A Name Worth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay gosh so i know its been like 10 days since i updated but here’s the thing;  
> my keyboard is still broken, i dont think its fixable, so writing has been super slow, plus i made a couple mistakes w the timeline n had to shuffle things about a bit.  
> so for a little while im gonna be updating once a week on tuesdays, and yes i am aware that today is wednesday but i didnt realise until i woke up this morning so, my bad! but tuesdays from here on out!  
> ———  
> anyways hell yeah season 2 time! officially! now comes the struggle of writing the character’s properly, good luck me! ;]  
> i hope you enjoy!!!!  
> ———

“Hey, you doing alright down there?” A voice called. You rapidly brushed the tears off your face and looked up at the driver of the truck. He was wearing a large pair of sunglasses and had long hair and an even longer beard. You hadn’t realised how dry your throat had gotten until you tried to speak.

“What year is it?” you rasped. The driver looked a little perplexed but told you. 1963. 

“How much have you taken?” he cackled a little bit, but his smile was wide and kind, “I’ve been there. Are you… are you trying to get somewhere?” You stood up and eyed him carefully. He didn’t seem malicious. More of a hippy-type, you thought.

“Dallas. I’ve got to get to Dallas.”

“Well, what do you know! I’m heading that way, too! You look like you need a lift,” he turned and muttered something towards the passenger seat, but you couldn’t see anyone there. Maybe  _ he _ had taken something.

_ ‘Ah well,’ _ you thought,  _ ‘I’ve survived worse situations,’ _ Your mind went back to images of the moon exploding and you shuddered inwardly. What was the worst that could happen? Plus, this was the only car you had seen on this road for however long you’d been knelt there, and you had no idea which way you were going, or how far away from Dallas you really were. You nodded in agreement and moved round the truck to the passenger seat. You waited for your ears to start ringing, or your head to start hurting, and inform you of danger. But it didn’t, and you felt safe. Well, safe enough for now. The man shuffled over slightly as you sat down, even though there was a rather large gap between you. 

“What’s your name, kiddo?” he asked. Kiddo? He looked the same age as you, perhaps a couple years difference, at most. Maybe the burned skin on your face had healed back better than it had looked before. You thought, briefly, of a sci-fi movie you had seen a long time ago, and quickly weighed up the possible consequences of giving your real name. You decided that the risk of breaking the timeline wasn’t worth it.

“Alex. You?”

The man seemed to have sensed your hesitancy, but he didn’t press.

“You can call me... Ben,” you guessed that was a fake name, too. He glanced away from you, seemingly at the space between you both, and pulled a face, before he started driving again. This guy was odd.

It was a long way to Dallas, and you were relieved that you’d accepted a ride. You and ‘Ben’ exchanged some small talk on the drive. He seemed to be uncomfortable with silence. You, however, were used to it. 

He told you about his travels around the world. He laughed a lot, and his smile was bright and he seemed to exchange comments with a person who wasn’t there, which was strange. He complimented your jacket. He asked why you were heading to Dallas.

“There are people there I need to help, apparently.” You didn’t want to say too much, but ‘Ben’ gave you an encouraging look, “I’m doing someone a favour, but I’m not sure I had much of a choice.” You let out a dry chuckle. Your only other choice had been to live out the rest of your days in an apocalyptic wasteland. You thought back to the child you had heard shouting just before Hazel brought you here. You hoped he was okay. You stared out the window at the setting sun.

“I just hope I can help,” you muttered, mainly to yourself.

“Well you managed to find your way to the middle of nowhere, I’m sure there’s nothing you can’t do.” ‘Ben’ seemed to be teasing you and you weren’t sure how to respond, so you just smiled and shrugged. You asked why he was going to Dallas.

“I’m running away,” he chuckled again, but he looked almost sad. You studied his face for a minute. He almost looked familiar, but you were sure you’d recognise that beard so you brushed the thought off. 

“What from?”

“Oh, you know, devoted fans, being adored and worshipped, the usual,” he flashed a cheeky grin your way. You laughed with him, not sure if he was being serious or not. You supposed it didn’t matter. For the first time in a long time, you nearly felt relaxed, and that was good enough for you.

It had gotten dark when your skin started crawling. The drive so far had been pretty calm, despite the fact that ‘Ben’ was clearly not all there. His constant chatter hadn’t unsettled you, neither had his offhand comments that weren’t directed at you. But something had changed. You didn’t feel unsafe, per say, but you knew you needed to get out of the car.

“Pull over,” you said, your voice composed but firm, “I can get out here.” ‘Ben’ looked confused.

“Are you sure? We’re almost in Dallas and -“

“I’m sure,” you interrupted. You weren’t sure what was going to happen, you didn't think it would be completely terrible, but you didn’t want to be a part of it. You couldn’t waste time if you were to find the Umbrella Academy. He nodded slowly and pulled over. You hopped out the car and shot him a quick smile.

“Thank you, for the ride,” you said, then added, “Stay safe, okay?” For some reason, he seemed to find this amusing. He waved his hand about.

“Sure, sure, you too. I hope you find who you’re looking for, Alex.” You closed the truck door and watched it drive away, before walking in the direction it was headed. Not too long after, a police car passed you.


	9. Deja Vu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay yeah wednesday again i apologise!! ive been distracted by a last minute move across the country ssooo,, I've only got a couple of prewritten chapters left right now.  
> but this one was fun tho! i hope!  
> also the longest so far! enjoy!  
> \--------

Fortunately, ‘Ben’ had been right, and you hadn’t been too far outside Dallas. You started wandering the streets, wondering what to do next. You had made it here, sure, but without a solid plan. How were you meant to find anyone? The sun was beginning to rise again, and you had no idea where you were going. You’d never been to Dallas before. You resigned yourself to sitting down in an alleyway. Your bones still ached from repairing themselves, and your feet needed a rest. You pulled your light jacket tighter around your middle in a desperate attempt to get comfortable, and closed your eyes.

You must have been tired because you’d slept until evening. The sun was glowing red across the horizon and, if you’d been in a better mood, you would've thought it beautiful. Instead, you used the wall to drag yourself upright, and tried to ignore the low rumbling in your empty stomach. 

You couldn’t. 

So, you decided that finding food was a priority. But how were you supposed to do that? You weren’t sure you could bring yourself to rifling through bins in hope of finding something edible. You picked absentmindedly at some peeling skin on your fingers and glanced up and down the street.

_ ‘Time to steal some food,’ _ you supposed.

You’d never actually stolen anything before, but you didn’t have any cash on you, and there was no way that your debit cards from the future would work in the 60s. 

_ ‘Do they even have debit cards in the 60s?’ _

There was no other choice. Your hands were already trembling. When was the last time you’d eaten? You couldn’t remember.

Whether it was because you’d stressed yourself out unnecessarily or because you were running on empty, you needed to sit down, and soon. So, you crouched down on the corner of a street a few blocks over and ate your stolen food. Hopefully, you were far enough away from the dim streetlamp so that you could go unnoticed by any passerby. 

And then he appeared again. Little Number Five was just a short way down the street from you. Without thinking, you called out to him, just like you had in 2019. He startled and turned to look at you. You couldn’t pinpoint the emotion on his face. Did he recognise you? How did he get here anyway? Suddenly, he was standing directly in front of where you were sat. His hands were balled into fists and he looked angry. For a small child, he was quite threatening.

“Who the hell are you? How did you get here, are you following me, somehow? Did the commission send you?” 

“What’s the commission?” You looked up at him and shook your head, “Some guy called Hazel grabbed me from the apocalypse, sent me here to find you -”

“Hazel sent you?” Okay, so he knew Hazel, then. The look on his face softened a little bit but his fists were still tight and he hunched over you.

“Yeah, yeah, said something about helping the Umbrella Academy and left me on the side of a road, the bastard. What are you doing here? What the hell am I doing here?” You searched his eyes for answers but he wasn’t focussed on you anymore. He looked as if he was trying to figure things out in his head. You grabbed the brick wall for support and hauled yourself to your feet. Five started off down the street and you hurried to catch up with him. You seemed to be making a habit of following people about recently, you thought, and felt a bit like a lost puppy.

You tried to start up some conversation, “Didn’t you disappear for years? What happened?”

He looked at you as if you were dumb, “Yeah, I came back.” Okay, sure. You didn’t think you’d get a better answer so you tried something else.

“How’d you end up in the 60s? Are the rest of your family here?”

“You ask a lot of questions, don’t you.” You watched your feet as you walked. Five may have been shorter than you, but somehow he made you feel small.

He sighed, “We failed to stop the apocalypse, so I time-travelled with my family. But something went wrong; we were scattered throughout the past 3 years. I’ve only just got here.” His voice was quieter, less abrasive than before. You weren’t sure how to respond.

“Oh.”

“My turn. Why you?” You didn’t know what he meant by that. You crinkled your eyebrows and tilted your head slightly. 

He rolled his eyes at you, “Why did Hazel send you?” You shrugged. You told him quickly about your powers. You told him you could sense danger like an instinct. You told him you survived the end of the world. He stopped walking abruptly and turned to stare at you, his eyes wide.

“You survived the end of the world?” He sounded shocked and you had to work to keep a grin stretching out over your cheeks. Instead, you simply nodded. That had definitely got his attention. 

“You couldn’t have survived that, no one could have survived that!” He almost looked impressed, and you just shrugged.

Five hummed to himself, and seemed to consider something for a moment, then, “Come on.” He grabbed your wrist and took another step, and you were inside.

You looked around, dazed.

“Five, you’re back. Who the hell’s this?” You spun, searching out whoever spoke. There was a man led on a sofa across the room, and a woman sat on top of him. She seemed to be tending to a wound on his side.

“Well, if you can bring home strays, so can I.” Five smirked at them. Your legs felt like jelly so you slowly made your way over to the closest chair. You watched the man carefully. He looked familiar, but you couldn’t quite place his face. He seemed to recognise you though.

“It’s you!” He tried to sit up, but immediately keeled over in pain, “From the motel!” Of course! He was the man who seemed to know the dead woman, back in 2019! Was he a part of the Umbrella Academy? 

He rolled over slightly to look at you, ignoring indignant grumbles from the woman, “How are you here?”

Five answered for you, “Hazel brought them.” The man on the couch scoffed and leaned back again. You exchanged names. He was Diego, the Umbrella Academy’s ‘Number 2’. The woman was called Lila. She eyed you suspiciously but you ignored her. You weren’t there for her. 

“You didn’t untie Elliot?” Five called through from the kitchen.

“Was I supposed to?” Lila retorted. You leaned back in your chair, and caught a glimpse of a man tied up in a back room. He looked terrified, if not a bit in awe, too. You stretched your legs and stood up before walking over to him. You couldn’t just leave him tied up like that, you felt bad for him. Nobody stopped you.

“Hey, Elliot right?” you spoke softly, “I’m (Y/N).”

His eyes were wide looking up at you, “Are you an alien from the future too?” You cocked your head, confused. Weren’t you all humans? Five appeared beside you and, once again, answered for you. He had a habit of doing that.

“They’re like us, yeah. Not part of our family, though.” He said, and Elliot nodded slowly. You shrugged. If that was what he understood, what harm could it do? You didn’t have the energy to contradict Five, anyway.

You heard Diego shout in pain from the other room and you cringed. Lila had stuck a heat gun on his skin to cauterise the wound, and he passed out. You didn’t blame him. You were exhausted; exhausted from walking for hours, exhausted from time-travelling, exhausted from dying in the apocalypse. You sat down at the kitchen table and rested your head on your arms and closed your eyes.

You woke abruptly in a cold sweat, standing suddenly and knocking your chair over. It took a moment to remember where you were. Your hands were trembling and you stumbled around the apartment to find Five. He was surprised when you bashed into him and grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Something…” you struggled to speak - you hadn’t realised your throat was so dry, “Something’s about to happen.” He pulled a face at you for a moment before he realised what you meant. At that exact moment, Elliot called through from the main room.

“Hey, one of the machine’s you asked for is going crazy!” Five almost looked at you in disbelief before disappearing to Elliot’s side.

“What are you tracking?” Elliot asked.

“Soundwaves,” Five grinned and grabbed your arm again, “You come with, so I can keep an eye on you,” he said, and dragged you through another portal.


	10. One Foot In Front Of The Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for ptsd flashbacks  
> honestly i havent experienced anything similar so please lmk if what i wrote is wrong or insensitive in anyway, so that i can either change it or remove it  
> —————

You found yourself near a cornfield as the sun was rising. Golden tones brushed past the tall stalks and filtered the light into beautiful elongated fragments across the dirt road.

“What are we doing here?” you asked Five as you pushed your way through the field. He sighed and narrowed his eyes at you.

“We are looking for my sister.”

“Oh. Which one?”

“Vanya. Number Seven.”

“Okay,” you nodded. He was watching you closely. “So, what’s the deal with the soundwaves?”

“I’m so glad you asked.” He didn’t sound glad, “Vanya’s powers are related to sound, and manipulating soundwaves.” You knit your eyebrows together. Wasn’t Vanya’s whole deal not having any powers? You didn’t get a chance to ask as Five teleported away, probably further into the field. That was doubtlessly for the best; you didn’t want to be on the receiving end of yet another disdainful stare. Was he like this with everyone?

It wasn’t long before you emerged into an opening. Corn stalks had been completely flattened in a large circular area, and in the centre was a small crater of dirt. You couldn’t help thinking that it reminded you a bit of a crop circle, and the thought made you chuckle. Elliot was going to love this.

Five pushed through the corn on the other side of the area, pulling Vanya in tow.

“Holy Hell, did you do this?” you called over to her, not trying to disguise the amazement in your voice, and she immediately tensed up.

Five waved a hand dismissively, “It’s okay, they’re with me,” he told her. Vanya’s eyes were wide as she glanced around the flattened area, and she looked as if she’d never seen it before.

“Uh, I think so,” she stammered, to both you and Five, “But I… I have no idea how.” You wondered briefly if you should be wary of Vanya and her possibly destructive power which she didn’t seem to have any control of, but she seemed nervous enough for the both of you, so you didn’t worry. Instead, you just made a mental note to ask someone about it later, and then you could decide how concerned you ought to be. For now, though, your senses seemed calm and that was good enough for you.

“Well, it’s good to see your powers are still intact,” Five strode across the circle and past you, looking a strange mix of smug and proud, “Let’s go.” You shared a quick look with Vanya as you both trailed after him.

A short while later, the three of you were sat at a diner counter sipping coffee. The atmosphere felt familiar, but the loud decoration reminded you that you were, in fact, in the 1960s, and you suddenly realised how little you had emotionally processed over the past couple of days. You had died, again, and time-travelled. Actually time-travelled. You drew in a shuddery breath as you tried to come to terms with the fact. Things were so different here, and yet, so similar in lots of ways, but you couldn’t quite come up with a list in your head. It was giving you a headache. Although, that easily could have been the lack of food and sleep you were suffering from. You decided that now was probably not the best time to try and rationalise recent events. But then again, were you sure that you’d actually get a chance to?

You were abruptly pulled out of your thoughts when Vanya spoke up.

“You gonna tell me what the hell’s going on?” She glanced between both you and Five. You figured that, given that you were also wondering, it was best to let Five answer her. 

The teenager drew in a quick breath and turned to face Vanya, “When you were a baby, you were bought by an eccentric billionaire. He raised you in an elite academy with six other siblings with extraordinary powers-” Ugh, you already knew this. You wondered if you’d ever actually find out what they were doing here; what you were doing here.

“-But in the year 2019, in order to avoid the apocalypse, we jumped into a vortex and ended up being scattered throughout the timeline in Dallas, Texas.” Oh. Well, that answered one question at least. You glanced over at Vanya. She seemed to be processing his words but she looked troubled. Did she not remember this? Surely, she should, if she was there. You offered her what you hoped was a supportive smile.

After a few moments, she’d managed to get her words together, “What do you mean, ‘the apocalypse’?” Your breath hitched as images of burning flesh and rubble came back to you, and you had to squeeze your eyes shut and shake your head to dismiss the memories. You reminded yourself that now was  _ not _ the time to try and deal with those.

“I mean the end of the world as we know it.” Five stated, matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, but how?”

“You really don’t remember anything?” His voice was softer now and you wondered what  _ had _ actually happened in the theatre that night. Had the Umbrella Academy been there, trying to prevent it? What could have possibly created the beam that exploded the moon, and why hadn’t anyone managed to stop it? Your head was swimming with unanswered questions, but you couldn’t bring yourself to interrupt the moment that the two siblings seemed to be in. So, you just listened, feeling like the outsider that you were. 

Vanya explained why she couldn’t remember anything. Apparently, she’d been hit by a car a month prior and had been suffering from amnesia ever since. That made sense, and certainly explained why she had no memories of the world ending, and then travelling back to the 60s. Honestly, you felt bad for her. It was a lot of information to discover all at once; she had siblings, and powers, and the world ended nearly 60 years in the future. And then came a question that you were desperate for the answer to.

“What causes the apocalypse?”

You held your breath and neither of them looked at you. Vanya was staring at Five, concern and confusion etched into her brow. Five was looking down, and, from the way his eyebrows were pushed together, you guessed he felt conflicted. But, there was sadness in his eyes. Or was it regret?

It felt like a lifetime before he responded.

“Asteroid impact,” he swallowed hard, “The big kaboom ends everything.” Asteroid impact? It was the bloody moon exploding! Why didn’t he tell her that? Sure, it’d be a lot to take in, but she’d already gone through a lot today. Go hard or go home, right? You waited for him to explain further but he didn’t.

Instead, he said, “Bad news is, it followed us here,” and your stomach dropped. You could feel your throat closing up, but this time it wasn’t from your powers. The world was going to end. Again. There was going to be another apocalypse. Oh, God. You gripped your mug tight and stared down into the darkness of the coffee as if it would give you a solution. Or, at the very least, soothe your nerves.

“Eight days from now-” (Oh God, oh God,  _ eight days _ ?) “-The world ends in a nuclear doomsday.” Your head hurt and your heart threatened to burst out your chest. Tears pricked your eyes as you glanced up at the other two, and from the look of it, Vanya was taking the news nearly as bad as you. Except, you supposed, she didn’t remember the trauma of the first apocalypse. Maybe you would have envied her if your ears weren’t ringing so loud that you thought they might bleed, and your thoughts weren’t so muddied. 

You didn’t hear the rest of their conversation. You’d already stood up and walked robotically out the door. You didn’t see Vanya stand up, just focussed on putting one foot in front of the other until you were on the street. You needed air - clean, fresh air - not the ash and dust that was drying up your tongue and choking your airways. 

You’d barely made it over the threshold when your knees gave out and you were on the floor, clawing at your throat in a futile effort to open it up. Your skin was burning, boiling off of you in sticky clumps, and falling onto the dusty ground. You stared down at your hands so that you wouldn’t have to see the charred corpses that were scattered around you, too close for comfort. Your fingers were blistering but you couldn’t bring yourself to tear your eyes away from them because the ruined street would be worse; devoid of life and full of horror. Tears falling from your eyes were instantly evaporated by the flames engulfing you. You couldn’t escape, you couldn’t scream, you couldn’t  _ breathe _ . You were dying again and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

And then there was a hand on your shoulder.

But that was impossible, right? Everyone was dead. At least, you hoped they were dead, instead of suffering how you were. You were sure they were dead. You didn’t want to be the last living human again, but you couldn’t move your head to see what was on your shoulder anyway. The fire had already burned through your muscles. Everyone was dead and you were almost dead, just waiting to die and wake up again in an empty world, littered with bodies and the stench of burnt flesh.

But,

Someone was saying your name. It was hardly audible over the angry winds that roared in your ears, but you were sure you’d heard it.

There it was again!

“(Y/N)! What the hell are you doing?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was my longest chapter yet! honestly im not sure how i feel about it, or the entire fic tbf ive lost motivation   
> i just dont feel like im getting anywhere, just retelling the show, which is irritating me.  
> i have one more chapter prewritten for next week, so ive got time to hopefully pull myself together and keep writing!  
> please let me know what you thought, so i can decide if its actually worth it or not haha


	11. Long Lost Acquaintances

You thought you’d been doing quite well coping with the world ending, all things considered, seeing that you were now situated 56 years prior to it actually happening, and had plenty of time to figure out what had happened, and stop it from happening again. 

You absolutely were not prepared to find out that now you only had 8 days.

It hadn’t taken Five very long to bring you back to the real world outside of the diner, but you’d have preferred if he was more empathetic about it. You’d left pretty quickly after that, desperately needing to just walk about and see for yourself that everyone was still alive, and all the buildings were still intact, and you’d agreed to meet him back at Elliot’s at some point. Not that you were sure how to get there, but you’d figure it out.

For now, you were just walking. Walking, and trying to figure out what the hell had happened to you at the diner. You’d been back there, back in the apocalypse, but it had been a confusing mix of dying, and waking up in an empty world. It had made sense at the time, you supposed, a bit like a dream would. Or, in this case, it was more like a nightmare. You admitted to yourself that it was a bad idea, not taking some time to process what had happened, or how it had affected you other than physically. But, there wasn’t exactly anyone you could talk to about it. 

You’d considered telling Five about it, but the impatient way he’d dealt with you before going back inside to get Vanya had convinced you otherwise. You thought, maybe you could speak to Diego, but you hardly knew the guy. Hell, you didn’t actually know anyone in this time. Elliot would probably be willing to listen, and at least try to understand, maybe, but you weren’t sure what Five had told him, and you were still cautious about wrecking the timeline. You almost wished you’d never heard of the butterfly-effect, but decided it was probably for the best that you had, and were being careful. As careful as you could be at least. You were way out of your depths with this.

Right now, you’d just have to be content with working through things on your own, in your own head. But not right now. You were still trembling from your flashback/daytime nightmare/whatever you might call it. All you wanted right now was to walk, and reassure yourself that, at this moment in time, everything was fine. You could worry about apocalypses and doomsdays later. You resolved to take a nap in a quiet park for now. God knows you needed sleep.

You had to stop waking up like this. You could feel blood pounding in your head with every rapid heartbeat, and you were shivering, despite how sweaty you were. You weren’t sure when you’d last washed, and you were certain that you smelt horrible, but you couldn’t care about that right now. You wished that, just for once, you could have a decent sleep, but that didn’t matter right now. You had to go. Now.

The sun had already set; you only knew where you were going thanks to the occasional streetlamp and your instincts. 

Oh, and the smoke billowing into the sky from a few blocks over. 

Your apprehension forced you to slow to a walk, your mind going wild with theories and suggestions about what could have happened; about what could be happening. Shouting and screaming could be heard, but you couldn’t make out what was being said.

Until…

“(Y/N)!” you heard a woman’s voice call your name. When you spun in the direction of the voice, you saw Allison, running over to you. Her eyes were red and the ghost of tears lined her cheeks and her chin, and she pulled you into a hug. It was a bit strange, seeing as you’d only met her once a few days ago, but you relished in the comforting touch and wrapped your arms around her.

“How are you here? How are you alive?” she murmured into your hair. You pulled back and shrugged a bit.

“Can’t get rid of me that easily,” you hoped it sounded like a joke, but your voice sounded stretched, and you weren’t convinced that your face was pulling the reassuring smile that you intended.

“Aha!” Another familiar voice came from behind Allison, “I knew you’d given me a fake name!” ‘Ben’ was standing with his hands on his hips, looking rather smug. Wait… How did they know each other? Was this a timeline thing? You furrowed your eyebrows at him as you tried to figure it out, but Allison quickly interrupted.

“Wait, you guys know each other?” she sounded taken aback and you sent her a sheepish grin.

“Yeah, I drove this bastard all the way to Dallas, and they had the cheek to give me a fake name!” 

You looked between the two and settled your gaze on the man, narrowing your eyes, “Yeah, and I’m sure you’re really called Ben.” You smirked at him as Allison rounded on him. He’d cut his beard since you saw him last, and without the obnoxious sunglasses, he looked even more familiar than before. He scoffed and ushered you and Allison towards a car before anyone could say anything else.

You hopped in the backseat and racked your brain to figure out  _ why _ his face seemed so similar to you. And then it clicked.

“Klaus!” you yelped gracelessly, then immediately snapped your mouth shut. You hadn’t meant to say that out loud, you’d just been so shocked by your realisation. He glanced at you in the rearview mirror, eyebrows raised.

“You called?” You could see the smug grin creeping across his face. It was kind of endearing.

“You prick, why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been looking for you guys!” You tried your hardest not to shout, honestly. But you were feeling so many different emotions, and your skin hadn’t stopped burning from the apparent danger that you were currently driving away from. Allison span around in the passenger seat to face you, confusion etched over her face. 

“So, if he drove you to Dallas, you can’t have been here long, right?” you nodded at the correct assumption and she continued, “So why are you here?  _ How _ are you here? Did you avoid the apocalypse?” You pulled a face, considering your current options. She technically knew you had powers, but only that you could sense danger. You weren’t sure if it was the best idea to tell her - God knows why you felt like that; probably because of the years of hiding who you were - but you’d already told Five, and honestly you trusted Allison more. So you explained how you’d woken up in the apocalypse, mostly healed, and you watched her expression turn from intrigued to horrified. You felt bad, dropping all this on her. Then you told her how you’d got to the 60s, subtly noting how Klaus had flinched when you mentioned Hazel.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that,” her face was sincere and you hesitantly smiled back at her.

“It’s fine,” you murmured, “It’s not the first time I’ve died.” That got the attention of Klaus. He turned to look at you, curiosity settled into his eyebrows, luckily having had just parked on the side of a street. You sighed, your heart clenching at the thought of having to walk them through all of your  near- death experiences.

So instead, you settled for the simple, “I’m immortal, I guess. I don’t want to talk about it.” You hunched your shoulders in and began chewing at the dry skin on your fingertips, hoping they’d get the message. Klaus’ green eyes widened, gleaming bright even in the darkness of the under-lit street. You were sure he was going to say something, until Allison ushered you both out of the car, and up a path that led to (what you could only assume was) her house.

You shoved Klaus’ legs out of the way, and dropped yourself on the couch.

“What was happening tonight?” you queried, carefully directing the conversation so that there’d be no more questions about your so-called-immortality. Allison had busied herself in the kitchen, making tea, or coffee, or whatever, so your question was mainly aimed at Klaus. You figured he’d give you the most straight-forward answer anyway. His sister seemed awfully upset about it.

“Racism.” He pulled his lips into a tight smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“We’d arranged a demonstration,” Allison interjected, “A sit-in at a ‘whites-only’ diner, and things ended...badly,” she didn’t look you in the eye as she passed you a mug and you felt terrible. You hadn’t even considered that side of the 60s, if you’d even considered the timeframe at all.

She sunk into an armchair before sighing heavily, “I made a mistake, I used my rumours and I think I ruined everything…” She trailed off and you leant forward, elbows leant on your knees. Your eyebrows were knitted together in confusion.

“Uhh,” Klaus stuttered, glancing at an empty chair, “Do they know about our powers?” He looked at Allison, one eyebrow raised.

You chucked quietly, “Well, if I didn’t, I would now.” You’d meant for it to be a joke, but both siblings looked alarmed.

“I knew, don’t worry!” you quickly backtracked, “I did a lot of research just before the first apocalypse.” You hoped the smile on your face looked comforting, and not threatening.

“Wait, the  _ first _ apocalypse?” Allison all but shrieked. Ah. your mouth opened and closed a few times, like a goldfish. You hadn’t meant to tell them. Well, you’d assumed they already knew, being the Umbrella Academy and all, but you hadn’t meant to mention it; not yet.

“Oh, er, I…” you stumbled over your words, feeling the blood rush to your cheeks, “Maybe Five should be the one to tell you.” 

“Five is here?” They both spoke at once, then looked at each other, then looked at you.

“Ah. I thought you knew…” It had been a long time since you’d felt so uncomfortable. You tried not to make eye contact with their questioning stares, but the silence was becoming painful. You had to explain, but quickly.

“I bumped into him the other night, somewhere on the street. I’m not sure how long he’s been here but he’s staying above an electronics store, with your brother Diego, some girl called Lila, and some man called Elliot. I think it’s Elliot’s place. I think he’s a real conspiracy nerd but I only spoke to him briefly. I don’t know, he seems nice though,

“And we went to find Vanya this morning, in a cornfield of all places. I think she’s got amnesia or something. But that was when Five told us about the next doomsday which is in, uh, 8 days.” You took a deep breath, not sure how much of your ramble they’d understood. You sipped the drink in your mug, then risked a glance up. The siblings were looking at each other now, eyes, wide, and seemingly having a wordless conversation.

Klaus was the first to break the silence, and he let out a humourless chuckle, “It should be unsurprising really; things always turn to shit when little Fivey turns up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so uh here’s the deal guys,,, im actually putting this fic on hold for a while. im not really a fan of the story at the minute or the way it’s written and ive just lost all motivation for it. this is my last pre-written chapter as i actually haven’t wrote in a couple weeks, im just not inspired  
> plus ive got other fics that im planning out, which honestly i much prefer to this one  
> im really sorry, i hope ill be able to come back to this at some point, when i get a wild bout of inspiration n that  
> thank you for reading anyway!!!!


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